Mary Korte

Only a Shoebox to His Name Mary Korte

THE GREAT DEPRESSION WAS A CHALLENGE FOR EVERYONE but to be born crippled and shuffled from foster home to foster home during it . . . Well, that required an extra measure of endurance.
In his own words, Forrest shares his experience growing up in foster care through the Depression and World War II. Moved frequently, he became a behavioral challenge. He also developed trust issues.
One of seven children born to poor potato farmers in northern Minnesota, he became a ward of the State soon after birth. Medical needs coupled with behavioral problems caused many foster families to give up on him.
During a time when surgical procedures were often experimental, he underwent many. Much of his childhood was spent in a hospital hundreds of miles away from any semblance of family. As he witnessed parents visiting their children in the ward, he withdrew within himself. Yet, he became resourceful. Each hospital stay, he arrived with very little but left with a treasure trove.
At age eight, finding stability in the Fuller foster home, Forrest learned to stand up for himself, to use his ingenuity to save many a day, and, most importantly, to hold Welfare to its promise. But he had a deviant secret which he somehow managed to hide for most of his life.